Baby holding device



April 3, 1951, L. A. HoDER BABY HOLDING DEVICE Filed April 25, 1949 Fls.

'.' 'az'cnxz INVENTOR. LOUIS A. HODER .TQM

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 3, 1 951 UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE BABY HOLDING DEVICE Louis A. Hoder, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application April 25, 1949, Serial No. 89,399

2 Claims. (Cl. 12S-134) This invention relates to baby holding devices.

Various belts, harnesses and the like have heretofore been proposed for confining an infant while permitting a limited movement of portions of the body of the'infant.

The devices heretofore proposed for this purpose have not however been particularly suited for shifting the body of the infant to change diapers, pants and the like.

The principal object of th-e present invention is to provide a baby holding device with which the baby will be securely and rmly held with predetermined limited body movement permitted.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a baby holding device in which the baby will be held on a horizontal surface with restraint at the shoulders and upper part of the chest, but with which the character of restraint will not be such as to render the infant uncomfortable or injure the child in any manner.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a baby holding device comprising a top sheet with suitable paddingwhich may be mounted on a stiff board so that the entire assembly may be placed on a bed, crib, table or othersupport with the child securely held and restrained at the shoulders, thus permitting the changing of diapers and the like.

t is a `further object of the present invention to provide a baby holding device of the character aforesaid which is simple in construction, may be easily kept in a clean and sanitary condition, and the cover portion of which may be readily stored in a small space.

Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the specication and claims. l

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, in which Figure l is a plan view of a baby holding device in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in elevation showing the manner of mounting an infant;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a preferred form of buckle which may be employed; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 and showing the straps in position.

It should. of course, be understood that the description and drawing herein is illustrative merely, and that various modications and changes may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the baby holding device, in accordance with the present invention, preferably includes a flat panel I9, of relatively rigid material such as plywood or the like, and a at sheet or cover It, preferably of synthetic plastic sheet material of water proof type, or of textile fabric irnpregnated and coated with synthetic plastic material of waterproof character.

The sheet or cover II has side edges I2 and I3 and head and foot end edges I4 and I5, and is preferably of a size to completely cover the top face of the board or panel I0.

Along each of the side edges I2 and i3 pairs of spaced straps I6 are secured, of textile material or the'like, the straps I6 extending beneath the board lo and being tied with suitable knotsil for holding the cover in position on the board I0. Similar pairs of spaced straps i9 are secured to the end edges I4 and I5 of the cover II, extend beneath the board I0 and are tied with suitable knots 20.`

interposed between the cover I I and the board or panel I9, a pad 2| is provided, which may be of any desired material such as felt, sponge rubber or the like. i

On the upper face of the cover sheet II intermediate the ends I4 and I5 and preferably closer to the head end I4 than to the foot end l5, a pair of straps 22 and 23 are provided, of suitable material such as textile tape, and are preferably initially disposed so as to be parallel to the side edges I2 and I3 and extend towards the foot end I5.

One of the straps 23 is provided with a buckle 25, adjustable therealong, and with which the other strap 22 is adapted to be engaged.

While any preferred type of buckle 25 may be employed a suitable buckle is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 and includes a frame 25a, having spaced slots 25h and 25e at one end of the frame 25a and an opening 25d at the other end of the frame 25a. A loop 25e is pivotally mounted on the frame 25a. intermediate its ends and has outwardly extending lugs 25j for ease of manipulation.

The strap 23 is adapted to pass through the slots 25D and 25e as shown in Fig. 4 and thus be held in adjustable engagement with the frame 25a. The strap 22 is adapted to pass upwardly through the opening 25d then over the loop 25e and then downwardly through the opening 25d above the portion of the strap 22 previously referred to.

A pair of loops 26 and 21, also preferably of textile material is provided, and secured to the cover sheet II, the loops 26 and 21 preferably being closer to the side edges I2 and I3 than the straps 22 and 23 and offset longitudinally towards the end I5.

With the cover II in position on the board I0 and held in position by the straps I6 and I9, the strap 22 is preferably passed through .the ad jacent loop 26 and the strap 23 passed through. the adjacent loop 21.

The infant may then be placed in position with the straps 22 and 23, extending upwardly and around the body at the shoulders and with the loops 26 and 21 extending upwardly at the arm pits.

The strap 22 may then be inserted in the buckle 25 and the same tightened to an extent to restrain the shoulders and upper portions of the body of the infant, but not to an extent to be uncomfortable.

The infant will thus be securely held at the shoulders and the lower portions of the body may be readily elevated .for changing diapers and the like.

The arms of the infant may be freely moved and the head is also capable of free movement. At the same time, the infant will be unable to twist or turn or move its body beyond the edges of the cover II. The infant is thus safely restrained.

If desired, of course, the cover may be secured in position on some other support such as the top of a crib and held in position by means of the straps I6 and I9 in any desired manner.

The buckle 25 permits oi adjustment to accommodate infants .of different sizes, without the necessity for any change in the straps 22 and 23 or the loops 26 and 21.

I claim:

1. In a baby holding device, a flat cover sheet of flexible material having a head end and a foot end adapted to extend respectively beyond the head and feet of the baby, a pair of spaced loops of flexible strip material secured to said sheet intermediate the ends and extending towards said foot end and adapted to extend in holding rela tion at the armpits of the infant, a strap portion carried by said sheet between said head end and said loops, another strap portion carried by said sheet between said head end and said loops in transverse spaced relation to said rst mentioned strap portion, said strap portions being adapted to engage the body of the baby over the shoulders and having free ends adapted to extend Ythrough said loops and across the chest of the in-` fant in meeting relation, and adustable fastening members for 'said free ends for holding said free ends in `adjusted restraining position.

.2. In a baby holding device, a iiat cover sheet of flexible waterproof material having a head end and .a foot end adapted to extend respectively beyond the head and feet of the baby and spaced sides adapted to extend beyond the sides of the baby, :a pair of spaced loops of flexible strip material secured to said sheet intermediate said ends and .said sides and extending `towards said foot end and adapted to extend upwardly in holding relation at the armpits of the infant, a strap portion carried by said sheet between said head end and said loops, another strap yportion carried by said sheet between said head end and said loops in transverse spaced relation to said first mentioned strap portion, said strap portions being adapted to extend vupwardly from said sheet in engagement with the body of the baby over the shoulders and having free ends adapted to extend through said loops and across the chest of the infant in meeting relation between and in substantial alinement with the armpits, and adjustable fastening members for said vfree ends for holding said ends in adjusted restraining position.

LOUIS A. HODER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 648,621 Hooper May 1, 1900 2,034,954 Murphy Mar. 24, 1936 2,102,281 Pringle Dec. 14, 1937 2,316,602 Lee Apr. 13, 1943 2,333,652 Koster Nov. 9, 1943 2,439,658 Holloway Apr. 13, 1948 

